Passion for service

The Holy Quran emphasizes that man and the universe were not created
in sport or without a purpose (21:17). What then is the purpose of the
creation of mankind? The Holy Quran says:

You are the best people created for the good of mankind. (3:111)

This verse claims that Muslims are the best people and have been raised
for the good of others. This verse tells Muslims to uphold the bright
torch of Islam for the whole world and to contribute towards the betterment
of all people. Therefore, if as Muslims, we have been raised to serve
mankind, we have to be the people from whom goodness flows towards the
less fortunate.

Service to mankind is the essence of Islam. What are the fundamental
qualities that are needed in order to acquire a passion to serve mankind?
We need to have love for humanity, kindness in our hearts for others,
a charitable disposition, humility, honesty, a thirst for knowledge and
when acquired, a desire to share it, and a constant desire to strive in
the cause of Allah by doing good and avoiding that which is bad. This
cannot happen by mere lip-service or self-service. This cannot happen
if we are self-seekers. This can happen only if we are God-seekers and
if we practise righteousness in our daily living!

We have been blessed with the complete and perfect teachings of the
Holy Quran and we have been blessed with the best example that walked
the face of the earth. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) practised the teachings in the Holy Quran to the fullest
extent and is the best example of the true representation of service to
mankind and to Allah. Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran:

For you there is a noble example in the Prophet of God. (33:22)

The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had but two
missions: One was to serve Allah and the other was to serve mankind. It
was through his service to mankind that the Holy Prophet served Allah.
No other human being has left an impression so deep and so permanent as
has Muhammad Mustapha (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). We cannot
fail to appreciate his nobility. Someone inquired of Hadhrat Ayesha (may
God be pleased with her) about his character. She answered very simply
that His character was the Holy Quran. No wonder then that the
Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is presented in
the Holy Quran as a perfect model for the whole of f mankind for all time
to come.

Almighty Allah has blessed all of us with many positive qualities and
talents which can be utilized to serve other people. There are so many
countless ways in which we can be of service to others.

The Holy Quran says:

And do not forget to do good to one another. (2:238)

The best example of kindness is that of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him). His kindness was limitless and without any discrimination.
Once on shaking hands with a labourer, he realized that his hands were
rough and calloused form the hard work. The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) took the hands in his own and massaged them gently
repeating several times: These hands are very dear to Allah. The
Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) showed appreciation
to his fellow beings. He said:

One who is not grateful to mankind is not grateful to Allah. (Tirmidhi)

The Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) had great compassion for mankind.
Love of humanity and forgiveness were two of his major characteristics.
He wrote:

I look upon no one as an enemy. I have the same love for all mankind
as a mother has for her children. I am only an enemy of false beliefs
and untruths. Sympathy for all is a moral obligation and a duty. (Arbaeen)

That religion is no religion that does not inculcate sympathy, nor
does that man deserve to be called a man who does not have sympathy
in him. (Message of peace)

Thus one of the most important ingredients needed in our recipe to serve
others is to have love and sympathy in our hearts for others. The Promised
Messiah (peace be upon him) also wrote:

If you are an elder, be kind to the younger ones and do not belittle
them. If you are rich, serve the poor but do not treat them with pride
and disdain. If you wish God to be pleased with you, then be like two
brothers born of one mother. (Kashti Nooh)

If we reflect upon the teachings of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon
him), and if we really have love in our hearts for others, then we should
desire for them the same good things we desire for ourselves. The Holy
Quran says:

And whatever good you do, surely Allah knows it well. (4:128)

This means that no act of kindness or charity goes undetected in the
sight of Allah. Charity is incumbent upon every Muslim. The Holy Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was once asked: If a person
should have nothing? He answered:

He should work with his hands to his own benefit and also give alms.
If he is not able to work? He should help a needy one. If he lacks that
also? He should restrain himself from doing evil. That too is charity.
(Bukhari and Muslim).

We all need to learn that charity begins at home and therefore for many
of us or rather for all of us, our passion for service must begin at home.
Looking after the needs of our parents and treating them with love and
respect is an excellent example of service. Once a man came to the Holy
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and asked his permission
to join an expedition. Are your parents alive? inquired the Holy
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Yes replied
the man. Then go and look after them, that is striving enough for you.
(Bukhari and Muslim)

What about the upbringing of our children? As a mother we are faced
with a very big responsibility. One of the biggest contributions we can
make to Islam, to our society and to the future of our Community is to
pay special attention to their upbringing. The Holy Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) has said: It is better to attend to
the upbringing of your child than to bestow a measure of corn in charity.

The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has said:
It is the duty of every Muslim man and woman to seek knowledge.
The Holy Prophet also said: The best charity on he part of a Muslim
is to acquire knowledge and to impart it to others. In fact, Islam
has laid so much stress on the pursuit of knowledge that the Holy Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself was taught this prayer
by Allah:

Lord, grant me increase in knowledge. (20:115)

Knowledge has no boundaries and no limits. The more one learns, the more
one seeks to increase it. When one embarks upon a project and begins to
read about that subject, one finds that a new way of thinking and a new
way of tackling the problem results form that knowledge. Even when we
read about subjects that we may think we already know, we can always gain
new insights and feel more enlightened.

At the death of the Promised Messiah (peace be upon him) in 1908, the
second Khalifa (may God be pleased with him) was only nineteen years old.
On that occasion he pledged to serve Islam and vowed: Even if all the
people abandon the Promised Messiah (on whom be peace) I will stand alone
to face the whole world and not care for opposition or enemies. This
is called passion! He remained true to his pledge. Many achievements go
to his credit. Many schemes for the community were developed by him. In
addition, he has written exhaustive commentaries on the Holy Quran and
in this way has rendered invaluable service to the members of the Community
and to new members. He has also given thousands of speeches and sermons
and introduced the world to the Islamic concepts based on Quranic principles.
In 1954, when all Muslim sects were striving to prove Ahmadis to be non-Muslims,
the Ahmadis presented translations of the Quran to presidents of different
countries and to Justice Munir of Pakistan. Art a time when the world
was trying to declare them to be non-Muslims, this was the way of the
Second Khalifa (may God be pleased with him) to proclaim to the whole
world that those whom you are trying to call non-Muslims are the ones
who are introducing the Holy Quran to others in their own mother-tongues!
This is called service!

Our present Khalifatul Masih IV (may God strengthen his hands), has
been stressing on another way to serve mankind and that is by inviting
people to the path of Allah. How does one do that? In order to invite
people to Allah, you yourself have to be a God-fearing person. If a potentially
new member begins to reflect upon the finer and deeper qualities of Ahmadiyyat
(the true Islam) and is then exposed to members who exhibit falsehood,
deceit and hypocrisy as routine behaviour, then what will be the resulting
mental state of this new member? This new member will be left confused,
disillusioned, disappointed and heart-broken. On the other hand, if the
new member observes that we are living a life of consistency, of honesty
and kindness, then trust and respect will develop. And once we have pulled
someone towards us by our righteous behaviour, then like a magnetic force,
we have pulled them towards Allah. We cannot give what we do not possess!
By practising righteousness in our daily living, we can all become become
very successful preachers. What better way to serve mankind than to live
a righteous life? In the U.S.A. which has such a large population of rich
and wealthy people, there are thousands in need. Loneliness, isolation,
disrespect for elders, drug abuse, child abuse, social discriminations,
psychological problems, immorality - these are all part and parcel of
this so-called 'affluent' society. Therefore, there is much need for a
kind word, a charitable act, guidance, imparting of knowledge and serving
as exemplary models in the very society in which we live.

Passion for service is blind to colour, status, and age. Young and old
can have this passion for service. There are many elder members who have
retired physically but have a wealth of knowledge and experience that
can be shared and the Community would benefit from their service. As far
as the new members are concerned, by serving in the cause of Islam, a
new awareness develops, and if one works with sincere intentions, then
the journey of spiritual progress begins with this passion for service.
The Holy Quran has stated:

Be competitive in doing good. (2:149)

We must, therefore, try to raise our standard of work and service to
the highest level of perfection. We must try to excel one another in our
passion to serve humanity. However, let us not become so carried away
with our competitiveness that we forget the true basis behind our intentions
to do service, and the end-result becomes an intention of show, self-service
and disservice to others.

Last year, in June, 1991, when Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih IV was addressing
the Canadian Community he explained how Ahmadis who have migrated to Canada
could be of service to Canada. He said: We should all strive to be
contribution oriented and not demand oriented. Therefore we must think
how we can be of service to others and how we can dedicate ourselves in
the service of Islam; not of what we can get in return.

No work of ours can be blessed without the benefit of our prayers. We
must pray with deep feelings and good intentions. We must pray that Allah
may inspire us to offer ourselves so that upto our last breath we may
have the opportunity to serve Islam. After all, which of us would like
to met Almighty Allah on the day of Judgment if we have not led a useful
life. Let us pray that Allah blesses our thoughts and our actions, and
blesses the fruit that results from our passion for service. - Amen.